Jan Bremmer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jan Nicolaas Bremmer (1944-12-18)December 18, 1944 (age 80) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Education | Ph.D. (1979) |
| Alma mater | VU University Amsterdam |
| Occupation(s) | Professor, Author, Editor |
| Years active | 1974-2009 |
| Known for | Research onancient Greek religion andearly Christianity |
| Notable work | The Early Greek Concept of the Soul,Interpretations of Greek Mythology |
Jan N. Bremmer (born 18 December 1944) is a Dutch academic and historian. He served as a professor of Religious Studies and Theology at theUniversity of Groningen. He specializes in history of ancient religion, especiallyancient Greek religion andearly Christianity.[1]
Jan N. Bremmer was born during theWorld War II in 1944 in Groningen, Netherlands. Though he became aliberalprotestant later in life, he was brought up in an orthodoxCalvinist family.[1] His father Rolf Hendrik Bremmer was a Calvinist minister and a church historian, and his mother Lucy Lindeboom also came from a family of Calvinist ministers. His maternal great-grandfather Lucas Lindeboom (1845–1933) was a professor at theKampen Theological College.[2]
Bremmer studiedClassics andSpanish at theVrije Universiteit Amsterdam (1962–1970) and theUniversity of Bristol (1969–1970). During 1970–1972, he did hismilitary service with theDutch Military Intelligence. He married Christine, a British citizen. They have one son and three daughters: Benjamin, Melissa, Rebecca and Daisy.[2]
During 1972–74, Bremmer taught Classics at Christelijk Streeklyceum (Christian RegionalLyceum) inEde, Netherlands.[3] Subsequently he taught ancient history at theUniversity of Utrecht, as an Assistant Professor (1974–1978) and as an Associate Professor (1978–1990). In 1979, he obtained aPh.D. from the Vrije Universiteit with a dissertation onThe Early Greek Conception of the Soul (published byPrinceton University Press in 1983).[4]
In 1990, Bremmer joined the University of Groningen as the Chair of Religious Studies, in Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. He served as the dean of the Faculty during 1996–2005. He was the inaugural Getty Villa Professor atMalibu during 2006–2007.[2] He served as a visiting professor at several other places, including theUniversity of Edinburgh (2007). He retired from teaching in December 2009. In his farewell lecture in January 2010, he discussed the rise of Christianity through the eyes of scholarsEdward Gibbon,Adolf von Harnack andRodney Stark.[1]
Author
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